


Time, and Time Again

by Blueskydancers



Category: Lord of the Rings RPF, The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings (Movies), The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Battle of Five Armies Fix-It, M/M, Post-Battle of Five Armies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-24
Updated: 2014-12-24
Packaged: 2018-03-03 08:00:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2843873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blueskydancers/pseuds/Blueskydancers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>SO21 is a government team set up to investigate unusual events. When three men are found badly hurt in rural Cheshire, they are asked to look into the case. They learn that history isn't as they had always believed it to be and that the world is in danger and only they, with some new help, can hope to do anything about it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Time, and Time Again

**Author's Note:**

> This story is supposed to be the set up for a new series - unfortunately I don't get a lot of time to write so further episodes might take a while to appear but I do have every intention of adding more.
> 
> This is also my way of coping with BOTFA...

Sean had become so used to the constant presence of the silenced TV screen in the corner of the room that he barely ever paid it any attention. He would have continued to ignore it but pure luck had him glance over at it just as the main frontage of Tatton Park appeared on screen.

The entrance to the park was cordoned off with blue police tape and a number of Police liveried vehicles stood around. The sun was low in the sky at this time of year and by its light, inside the park, Sean could just make out a group of people dressed in the familiar white protective suits used by scene of crime technicians. Grabbing the remote control, he thumbed the volume control until he could hear a female voice talking over the footage.

“Cheshire Police are appealing for witnesses to help them discover what happened to three men who were found in the grounds of Tatton Park. The Police have released some details of the men who have not yet been identified. The victims of this brutal attack are said to have been wearing medieval style chain mail and their injuries are consistent with those caused by weapons of a similar period. They were initially treated at Leighton Hospital but when their condition deteriorated they were transferred to the Manchester Royal Infirmary where they under police guard.”

The picture changed and Sean saw a male reporter standing outside a glass fronted building; a couple of ambulances, with their blue lights flashing, moved across behind him. 

The man began speaking, “A statement was issued by the hospital authorities earlier today; it was brief and only confirmed that three men suffering from life threatening injuries had been transferred here earlier this week in a convoy of ambulances. Their conditions are critical and no further details will be released until their next of kin have been contacted. A statement released by Cheshire Police has said that details of the crime had been kept secret until now to allow for investigation of the attack without alerting those responsible. Initial enquiries have now been concluded and the Police are now appealing for anyone with any knowledge of the attack to come forward. They have also called a press conference for tomorrow when they will release more details of the victims.”

The picture changed again and returned to the studio, and with an annoyed grunt, Sean turned off the television and picked up his phone. He stood starring at it for a few seconds trying to work out where the idea he needed to act quickly had come from. As usual, he didn’t come up with an answer but such feelings were invariably right and he had learned to act on his intuition. So, hitting the speed dial button, he waited impatiently for the call to be connected.

“Hugh?”

“Yeah. Is that you, Sean?” The voice sounded tired and a little put out.

“Yes, it’s me. Listen, Hugh, I know you only got to bed a couple of hours ago but I need your help.”

“Why? What’s going on?”

Sean quickly explained the situation to Hugh. “So, thanks to the Cheshire Police Force and the bloody BBC, the ones responsible know exactly where to find the victims. If I’d known the Police were going to release the details I would never have sent Lan up there without backup.”

“Let me put you on loudspeaker while I get dressed and you can fill me in on the rest.”

Sean made out the sound of drawers opening and closing while Hugh moved around and then the rustle of fabric.

“Do I want to know why we have taken an interest? From what you’ve said it looks like a simple gangland hit. Someone pissed someone else off and they got smacked down.”

Sean thought quickly, his superior, G, hadn’t wanted his participation revealed at this point in time so Sean needed to come up with something to satisfy Hugh’s interest. Unlike Orlando, whose academic curiosity would overcome everything else, Hugh was much more down to earth and was unlikely to be fobbed off with vague reasons or excuses. 

Realising that telling as much of the truth as possible was the best ploy, Sean said, “I’d love to be able to agree with you but the armour and weapons these guys had have been looked at by an expert and he is convinced they are the genuine article. Also, their clothing looked to have been handmade.”

Through the phone Sean heard the sound of a door closing.

“So they’re flashy dressers. It makes it sound even more like they are part of the mob. I’ve seen The Godfather, those guys spent a fortune on clothes.”

“Sorry, Hugh, when I said handmade I meant actually stitched by hand, even the boots they were wearing. And the fabrics were silk, cotton, linen or leather not a single synthetic. Oh and no elastic or zips. The fastenings were buttons, made from wood, metal and bone or leather straps. Everything was accurately medieval, even their wounds. I have the strongest feeling that the shit is about to hit the fan over these men and, if it does, Lan will need backup. I’m on my way there but it’s going to take a while.”

“It’s just as well I’m already in the area then, isn’t it?” Hugh said somewhat grudgingly. 

“It is, I know you’ve been working a lot of hours lately, Hugh, but I promise you can have a week off as soon as we get this sorted.”

There was silence for a moment and then Sean heard Hugh start the engine of his car and the squeal of tyres as he pulled away.

“Okay I’m on my way. It’ll take me around forty five minutes to get there. Maybe you can ask Lan to wait outside for me?”

Sean snorted in disbelief. “This is Lan we are talking about, you know as well as I do that once he gets his teeth into something intriguing and historical, nothing will divert him. I could order him to wait but I don’t want to do that when I really don’t have any proof that there is a tangible risk.”

Sean heard Hugh groan. They both knew how focused Orlando could be when something piqued his interest.

“Okay, I’ll push it and be there by four-thirty. But that’s the quickest I can make it.”

“Thanks, Hugh. I appreciate this and I owe you. I’ll ring Lan and try to delay him but also I’ll let him know you’re coming so he can clear your access with the authorities.”

Sean hung up and immediately dialled another number.

“Hello.”

Sean heard muted sounds of traffic in the background and guessed that Orlando was using the hands free option for the phone. “Lan?”

“Who else would it be?”

“Very funny. Listen. Cheshire Police have made a statement on television so anyone with any interest in the situation knows where to find our mystery men.”

“Okay, I’ll be careful.”

“Where are you?”

“Just pulled into the hospital car park. The traffic was bloody awful because there’s one of those outlet shopping centres close by and half the city seems to be out doing Christmas shopping.”

Sean paused and tried to work out the best way to phrase what he wanted to say. “Lan I’ve got a bad feeling about this one so I don’t suppose I can get you to wait for half an hour before you go inside?”

“Channelling Star Wars again, Sean? Anyway what happens in thirty minutes that’s going to make any diff-?” Orlando stopped talking abruptly and then swore so loudly that Sean had to move the phone away from his ear.

“Shit! You’ve got Jackman coming here after me haven’t you? He’s in the area so you’ve got him coming to babysit!”

Orlando had gone from sounding vaguely amused to pissed off. But Sean was willing to put up with that; it wouldn’t be the first time they hadn’t seen eye to eye about Orlando’s safety. 

“Lan, listen to me, it’s only half an hour and when Hugh gets there, he can take care of any problems that arise. He’s trained to deal with situations like this.”

“So am I, Sean. I might not have yours or Hugh’s experience but I’ve had full training on how to defend myself. Besides which Hugh must be nearly dead on his feet from exhaustion, he can’t possibly have had more than an hour or two of sleep. How does that make him more competent than me at this precise moment? And, what would you have done if he wasn’t in the area? Would you have let me go it alone then?”

“Lan, up until two years ago you were an academic. Hugh’s been in the Army, he’s far more competent to handle any sort of violence.” As soon as the words left his mouth Sean realised he’d screwed up and so he wasn’t surprised when he heard the sudden beep beep of a call being ended. Shit! He knew better than to doubt Orlando’s abilities. He wondered when there would be a time when he wouldn’t be over protective of the youngest and newest member of his team. Even though he had been part of that team for more than two years, Sean’s conscience added helpfully.

He didn’t bother to try to phone Orlando back, he wouldn’t pick up anyway. Instead Sean dialled Hugh.

“What?” 

“I screwed up. Lan’s pissed off and he hung up on me.”

“Okay, Sean. Let me concentrate on driving right now. I’ll ring you when I get to the hospital.”

“Okay and thanks for not telling me I’m an idiot.”

Sean could hear the grin when Hugh responded. “I won’t this time but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to the next time this happens.”

~~~

Hugh pushed the button on the steering wheel that cut off Sean’s call. As he drove over the motorway that ran around Manchester he was gratified to see that he had done the right thing by opting to use the smaller roads as traffic on it was at a standstill. As the area became more built up he slowed, watching out for unwary pedestrians or other road users.

He’d known Sean for a long time and he had always been the one to act on gut instinct; Sean had always operated much more by the book. But recently, Hugh had seen that change, more and more Sean was relying on intuition. Having Sean flinch at shadows was worrying because it was so very much out of character. 

Hugh often wondered why Sean had chosen to lead the small, secret, government department that investigated odd cases, the ones that didn’t fit into the system or have any logical explanation. For someone with Sean’s down to earth demeanour it had seemed an unlikely career move. He’d nominally kept his rank of Chief Inspector and had a great deal of autonomy on which cases he could investigate, but to Hugh, it seemed very much as though Sean had been side-lined. Hugh wasn’t aware that Sean had done anything to necessitate the move and Sean had never chosen to enlighten him. And the cases their small team investigated? Well Hugh didn’t want to consider too closely how he felt about those. Some of the stuff they dealt with wasn’t easily explainable. Not even for a smart arse like Orlando.

Orlando. Now he was a strange one; undeniably good looking and a magnet for any woman under seventy and probably even a few over that age, he was the cleverest and least worldly-wise person Hugh had probably ever met. Hugh supposed he shouldn’t be surprised that the two went hand in hand. Orlando never seemed to notice the effect he had on the ladies, maybe it could be blamed on the fact that he had spent most of his twenties buried in books and academia, graduating from Oxford top of his class and then going on to gain a Master’s degree and a PhD in terribly obscure subjects, but Hugh was pretty certain the reason was that Orlando’s preferences lay elsewhere.

One night, after a particularly disturbing case, when the three of them had drunk their way through most of a bottle of scotch, Orlando had confided to them that his family were not supportive of his career choice. His father, a well-known academic, had wanted Orlando to take up teaching once he had completed his doctorate. They had not spoken since Bloom senior had learned that Orlando was joining Sean’s team. 

Once he reached the outskirts of Manchester, Hugh realised he needed to concentrate wholly on his driving. There were too many people around, catching up on their Christmas shopping from the bags and bags of stuff they seemed to be carrying. Anyone of them might walk into the road. Fortunately, he knew exactly where he was going so he wouldn’t have to waste time waiting for directions from the Sat-Nav.

~~~

Still pissed at Sean, Orlando drove into the hospital’s staff car park. Once parked, he pulled the sun visor down, making sure the sticker denoting his vehicle’s official status was clearly visible. The last thing he needed would be to get clamped and have to ask Sean to arrange for the car to be released. Picking up his iPad from the seat beside him he exited the car, slamming the door and locking it. He entered the building through a set of automatic doors, absently noticing the Christmas tree standing in the foyer before following the signs to Intensive Care. Finding a staircase, he headed up two floors, deliberately taking two steps at a time. Sean could just go and screw himself; Orlando knew what he was doing.

The ICU occupied one corner of the floor. Orlando pressed the intercom, identifying himself to the female voice who responded and, after a short wait, he was buzzed in. He found himself in a wide corridor. At the far end, the hallway opened out into a large ward but Orlando knew the men he had come to see were in a side room. His destination was easy to spot because there was a single police constable sitting outside on a wooden straight backed chair. Using the hand sanitizer as the signs requested, Orlando waited until the sticky gel had dried before fishing his ID card out of his inner jacket pocket. He waved it at the PC on guard. “Orlando Bloom, SO21. I believe you’ve been told to expect me?”

He waited for the familiar response and it didn’t take long.

“SO21?”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

His face now a carefully blank mask, the police officer said, “I was told to expect you, sir. The men you want are just inside. The doctor was here a few minutes ago and he said their conditions are improving. He mentioned something about moving one of them to a normal ward as early as tomorrow.”

“Thank you, I suspect that won’t be possible for now, information about them has been on television so whoever did this knows they’re being kept here.”

“I know, sir, I saw the cameras out front when I came on duty.”

Orlando reached for the handle but stopped before he made contact. He might be annoyed at Sean but Hugh hadn’t done anything to earn his ire. He couldn’t leave him stuck outside ICU. “Oh, and a colleague of mine, Hugh Jackman, will be here shortly. Can you let him in please?”

“Of course, sir.”

Orlando opened the door and let himself into the private ward. 

The space that greeted him was typical of most hospital rooms he seen, being white and featureless, with windows covering one wall. Three beds were arranged with their heads against the right hand wall of the room. Alongside each of the beds were monitors, silent but with lights flickering across their display screens. A nurse in green scrubs, sat on a stool in front of the beds; she had a large tilted desk in front of her holding lots of pieces of paper on which she kept making notations.

He walked over to her, “Hello, my name is Orlando Bloom. I’m here to see the patients.”

“Wendy, I’m working this shift with them.” She stood and came over to him.

Orlando nodded, “Pleased to meet you.”

“Are you a doctor based at the hospital here? Only I don’t recognise you.” She looked him up and down. 

“Oh no. I’m not a doctor, at least not a medical one. My PhD is in medieval studies with specialities in its language and linguistics.”

One of the machines started beeping and she moved away, walking over to press a button on one of the monitors before checking the plastic clip attached to the patient’s finger and re-settling it in place. “So, why are you here? I’m assuming that because the policeman outside let you in you’re supposed to be here.” 

Orlando moved nearer, keen to get his first close up view of the mystery men. “That’s true. I’m really just trying to find out some more about them. One of the reports said that one of them was conscious when they were found and that he was speaking an odd sounding language. As it’s my specialist area I was asked to come and see if I could talk to them or gather any useful information.”

“Yes, I heard that rumour too but none of them have said anything while I’ve been around. The consultant has recommended reducing their level of sedation though so it’s possible they could wake any time now. To be honest their recovery has been nothing short of miraculous considering the severity of their wounds.”

He looked the men over, two were dark haired and one was fair, but despite the differences in their colouring he got the impression that they could be related. Two of them were obviously younger than the third, though with their long hair and the varying amounts of facial hair they all sported, estimating their exact ages was difficult. Orlando wondered if they were a father and sons which could indicate that the attack on them was something to do with a family feud. His eyes lingered on one of the younger men, he was certainly extremely good-looking. Their chests were bare allowing him to see the sticky pads attached to their skin, feeding information to the monitors. All three had well developed, muscular upper bodies, proving that they were used to keeping fit, most likely in a gym because what skin of their torsos he could see through their body hair was pale and didn’t look to have been exposed to sunlight recently. Even though the men looked wan in the artificial light of the ward, Orlando could see that the skin on their faces was darker – which would indicate that they hadn’t been imprisoned or kept away from sunlight completely. 

Almost against his will his gaze kept straying back towards the dark haired man in the bed furthest from the window. Confused, because he couldn’t remember experiencing such an instant attraction to anyone before, he looked around for a distraction. Fumbling in his bag he produced his tablet and showed it to Wendy. “Is it okay if I use this here?”

“As long as you turn it off the wifi.”

Orlando complied and pulled up a window to use for his notes. Trying to appear professional he asked, “What were their injuries? I’ve seen a report which said they were mostly stab wounds or blunt force trauma.”

Wendy moved closer to the bedside of the oldest looking of the three. His long, dark hair was spread across his pillow in an untidy mess. “Well, mystery man number one had two serious puncture wounds, one to his abdomen and another to his left leg. Fortunately it missed the main artery in his leg or he would have bled out long before he got to a hospital. Those wounds looked as though they were made with a hooked weapon as the skin around the punctures was ripped and torn. He also has an assortment of minor injuries consistent with an attack with a machete or a very large bladed knife-”

Orlando interrupted her. “You’ve had experience with knife wounds to be so specific?”

“I worked A and E for twelve years before moving into ICU. I’ve seen far too many victims of stabbings.”

“Okay, what about the others?” 

Wendy gestured at the single blond patient. “His main injury is a stab wound to his back, which only just missed his spine. He’s lost a kidney because it was too badly damaged to save but the other seems to be working fine so far. His arm is broken, which could have been caused by a blow or even by someone stamping on his arm when he was on the ground.”

Orlando saw that the man’s damaged arm was in a plaster cast, like the others he was connected to an assortment of monitors and had tubes attached to various parts of his anatomy.

Orlando looked over to the occupant of the last bed and attempting to keep his voice professional he said, “And the last one?”

Wendy consulted her notes again. “The surgeon who operated on him had to remove an arrow which had pierced his lung. There was also evidence of a major head wound, caused by a heavy blow, possibly with something like a sledgehammer. Apart from the injuries I’ve mentioned, all three of them have scars from previous wounds, some of which are more recent than others.” 

“Well it sounds as though they are very lucky to still be around. With wounds like that the blood loss must have been huge too.”

“Yes, they all needed transfusions desperately but there was a problem.”

“What problem?”

“We couldn’t cross match their blood. The type was nothing like anything anyone in haematology had ever seen. There was nearly hell to pay because the consultant in charge thought someone in A and E had been joking around and had sent them animal blood.”

“I can imagine. What did they do?”

“They gave them fluids initially which stabilised them but then, when we sent their bloods off again, they all came back as O positive so we were able to set up transfusions for them. That seems to have done the trick.”

He nodded and made some more notes.

“There’s a chair over there if you want to stay for a while,” Wendy offered.

“That would be great, thanks. I’ll hang around for a bit, just in case any of them wake.”

“I’d keep your eye on the fair-haired one; I reckon he’s going to be the first one to open his eyes.”

“Is that an educated guess?”

Wendy nodded. “I’m hoping it happens while I’m on duty. Some of the other nurses were very interested in these three as it isn’t often we have such good looking patients to care for.” She gave Orlando an embarrassed grin realising that perhaps she had said too much – something that Lan found happened around him quite a lot as far as women were concerned.

Sitting back in the chair, he closed his eyes for a moment. He hadn’t needed to work as long as Hugh, who had been tying up the loose ends on their previous investigation, but it had been a pretty hectic few days. He jumped when a monitor measuring vital signs began making a noise, the beeping getting louder and more frequent. Worried that one of the patients might be taking a turn for the worse, he stood and joined Wendy beside the bed.

It turned out that Wendy’s guess had been correct; the fair-haired man was awake. But, even to Orlando’s untrained eye, it was obvious he was confused and distressed by his surroundings. As he continued to thrash around the leads from the various monitors became disconnected, adding to the cacophony.

“We’re going to have to sedate him again or he’s going to hurt himself.” Wendy shouted over the din.

“How can I help?” Orlando asked as another nurse appeared in the doorway.

Ignoring him, Wendy shouted at her, “Get Mike in here now.”

She vanished without comment and moments later she returned with a doctor in tow. They joined Wendy at the bedside where one of them silenced the high pitched alerts, temporarily restoring peace to the room. But, even with three of them, it appeared they were having problems restraining the patient. Unfortunately, Orlando couldn’t make out any words he recognised from the man’s pained shouts, to identify the language he was using.

Seconds later the main door opened and Hugh Jackman appeared, dwarfing the police constable who had been on guard but who was now looking into the room to find out the cause of the alarms. 

Orlando waved Hugh over but he had barely covered half the distance when the external windows, covering one wall of the ward, exploded inwards in a glittering shower of glass.

Orlando recoiled, instinctively putting his hand up and feeling stinging sensations as tiny shards of glass sliced into his palm.

The shocked cries of the medical staff were drowned as the monitors started screeching again but before anyone could react, dark, squat shapes, seemingly suspended in mid-air appeared outside the windows. The figures launched themselves through the windows, uncaring of the jagged shards of glass that littered the edges of the frames and bringing more debris crashing into the ward.

The creatures pouring in through the windows were not of this world, of that Lan was in no doubt, so he had no hesitation in reaching for the gun hidden under his jacket. Hugh spun around on the spot, his gun appearing in his hand instantly.

The invaders didn’t seem to fear the weapons because despite their shouted warnings the tide advanced towards the injured men and the medical team who were rooted in place. 

Hugh fired first and Orlando, despite the gun not being his weapon of choice, followed suit, trying to keep his breathing and aim steady. The room filled quickly with smoke and noise; the gunshots reverberated around the bare walls and combined with the howling of the monitors to almost deafen him. 

Once they had cleared some space, Hugh bellowed at the medical team. “Get out of here! Now!”

Showing the utmost reluctance the medical personnel slowly retreated from the room. The intruders ignored them, their attention focused solely on the patients. One of the attackers made it to the bedside of the oldest invalid and before Orlando or Hugh could do anything, he plunged a crude knife into the man’s chest.

Without thinking Orlando hurled himself forward firing continuously, driving the creatures back. It was only when he pulled the trigger and nothing happened that Orlando realised he was out of ammunition. Seeing one of the creatures rushing towards him, Orlando ducked and, picking up a discarded sword from the floor, moved automatically into a defensive crouch. The weight in his hand was familiar yet different but, when a group of the creatures rushed at him, he let himself sink automatically into the rhythm of parry and riposte.

He didn’t know how long he had been fighting, but the tide of attackers was beginning to ebb, when something landed on his back. Staggering under the unexpected impact, he fell, hitting his head on the metal frame of one of the beds, making him see stars. In spite of his struggles, his attacker got a grip on his hair and smashed his head back down against the floor.

Orlando tried to roll over to dislodge his attacker but his vision tunnelled and his strength failed. He saw the gleam of a blade being brought towards his neck but before it touched him, the weight on his back suddenly disappeared. Then the darkness overwhelmed him and he sank into unconsciousness.

~~~

Hugh walked back into the wreckage of the intensive care unit. Just over an hour had passed since the attack and in that time all of the other intensive care patients had been transferred, without undue fuss, to other wards, confirming that the hospital’s major incident procedures had been meticulously thought out and that the staff were well prepared to implement them.

Minutes after the attack, when Hugh was sure that the three mystery men and Orlando were no longer in immediate danger, he had dialled Sean to report the incident. It had taken a while to get his call put through to Sean who was on route to Manchester but once Hugh had made his report, Sean had pulled the necessary strings to seal off the intensive care unit, arrange for the four of them to be moved to an empty ward which was awaiting renovation and to get a squad of marines on site to stand guard. He had also got a DA notice slapped on the whole event, which would hopefully give them some breathing space to figure out what the fuck was happening.

Using his boot Hugh rolled one of the creatures over onto its back and crouched down beside it. It was like nothing he’d ever seen before, its body distorted and scarred. Its black skin resembled that of a reptile, with a small scale-like pattern. In its open mouth he could see an array of misshapen, pointed teeth. The crude armour it was wearing made its body appear even more grotesque. 

Hugh heard footsteps; he straightened and his hand automatically went towards his gun. He was still feeling jumpy and wasn’t taking any chances. He relaxed when Sean appeared in the doorway.

“You didn’t hang around getting here.”

“I was worried. So how’s Lan?”

“He was knocked about a bit and the doctor’s think he has concussion but it could have been worse. One of these ugly bastards took him down and he was in trouble until one of the mystery men grabbed a dagger and threw it. It was a direct hit. He saved Lan’s life.”

“Wait! One of them is awake?” Sean turned to glare at Hugh as if he should have told him that straight away.

“Not any longer. He was pretty agitated and the doctor had to sedate him so he could be moved.”

“Shit! How are we ever going to work out where these people come from if they’re not awake for more than five minutes?” Sean glanced around the room seemingly taking in the corpses still littering the floor for the first time. He appeared to lose himself for a few moments, remaining uncharacteristically still and silent until Hugh began to worry. Then suddenly he snapped out of his reverie as though it had never occurred and said, “So what happened?”

“They came down from the roof and in through the windows. They were after your mystery men, that much was obvious and if Orlando and I hadn’t been here they would have succeeded. They managed to get to one of them, but the wound missed any vital areas so the doctors are pretty confident he’ll be okay. Of course they are amazed at how quickly the three of them are recovering from such serious injuries anyway. They’re saying that it isn’t normal.”

“Yeah? Well something like that isn’t exactly a surprise in our line of work is it?”

Before Hugh could ask for clarification of Sean’s comment, his boss spoke again.

“Any clue how they got onto the roof or what they are?”

“I have no fucking idea. Even with the weird shit we’ve been dealing with over the past couple of years I’ve never seen anything like them before.” Hugh rubbed his hand over his face. He was exhausted. “What about you? Have you seen anything similar before?”

“I don’t think so, but there’s something at the back of my mind and I just can’t bring it forward.”

Before Hugh could ask for further explanation, the police officer who had been on duty outside ICU came into the wrecked ward, looking around nervously. “I just came to let you know that your colleague is asking for you.” 

Sean and Hugh both headed towards him. Taking charge Sean said, “Thank you, constable. I’ll clear it with your superiors but you need to be aware that what happened here is a matter of National Security. Nothing you’ve seen or heard here is to go any further unless you want to find yourself on school crossing duty until retirement age.” Sean gestured at the misshapen bodies littering the floor. “Someone will be here shortly to clear up the mess.”

He nodded, clearly repulsed by the sight in front of him. “Yes, sir.”

As they walked to the temporary ICU location, Hugh nudged Sean with his elbow and said, “Hey, I never knew that Lan was an expert with a sword.”

Sean smiled back at him, obviously enjoying Hugh’s surprise. “He was a bit of a child prodigy I suppose, showing an incredible talent for medieval weapons before he was ten it was one of the reasons he opted to study that era. He was captain of both the archery and fencing teams at university.”

“Archery too?”

“Yeah, he was almost selected for the British Olympic team a few years ago I understand.”

Hugh sobered abruptly. “Just as well he knows how to handle this old gear.”

“Why?”

“I have no idea why and perhaps it will show up when the experts get a closer look at the bodies but the only way to bring these creatures down with a gun was a bullet through the head. Anything else didn’t stop them. Lan was much more effective with the sword because he could hack off their heads. His skill probably saved all our lives.”

~~~

**10 days later**

Thorin shifted uncomfortably in his chair, unaccustomed to having nothing that needed his attention. Since the dragon had descended upon Erebor there had not been a single day when he had not had some task to perform or some responsibility to fulfil. He took another sip of the hot drink favoured by the men of this time. It was an acquired taste, this coffee, and though he still wasn’t completely sure he liked the flavour he certainly enjoyed its restorative effect. Remorse and anger and the strangeness of his surroundings had made it difficult for him to relax. Perhaps because they were younger and less set in their ways, his nephews had adjusted to this strange world much more easily and, at times, Thorin envied them.

He looked over to where Fíli and Kíli were standing beside a table. They were playing a game which involved hitting coloured balls with a thin stick and making them drop into holes around the edge of a fabric covered table. Hugh had explained that the game was called snooker and had tried to show him how it was played but Thorin didn’t understand the appeal. How could he? When he didn’t know how or why they had been saved? He desperately wanted to know what was happening in Erebor and the fate of the rest of his loyal followers. He knew now it was a loyalty he didn’t deserve.

Thorin tried to hide his inner turmoil. The image of his nephews standing over him, defending his worthless carcass until they were cut down, would haunt him to the end of his days. He hadn’t merited their sacrifice. He had succumbed to the gold sickness that dogged the steps of Durin’s line without putting up more than token resistance and, as a result, had doomed them all. Even though by some magic they had survived, Thorin didn’t know that he would ever be able to make amends for leading them to their deaths and this exceedingly strange re-birth.

They had awoken to a very different world. His first trip in one of this world’s horseless carriages had been terrifying and it had only been the desire to maintain some semblance of dignity that had stopped Thorin from bolting or screaming in terror during their journey to this large building in the south of the country. Sean had told him it was where he, Hugh and Orlando made their homes and that they had suites of rooms in the huge house so that they could keep to themselves if they wished yet have the others around if they wanted company. He also said that living there made it easier for the three of them to go about their work – something that Thorin was only just now coming to understand. The house was near a city called London and Hugh had mentioned that seven million people lived there. It was a number Thorin couldn’t hope to comprehend. Even at the height of its power and fame, Erebor’s population hadn’t exceeded fifteen thousand dwarves!

So many things were now drastically different and each would take time to become accustomed to. All three of them had changed physically; their bodies had elongated and they were now of a height with men and had the proportions to match. Thorin had not yet grown accustomed to his new size, with only Hugh of the men here being taller than him. 

Kíli took his turn at the table while Fíli stood with his arms folded, watching every move his brother made. Though Kíli had remained taller than his brother, their closer fitting clothing, lacking familiar layers, only emphasised the difference in their builds, with Kíli now appearing even younger and more slender. Indeed, in Thorin’s estimation, he looked like a strong wind would snap him in half. Of course that was not the case as they had seemingly kept their rugged dwarven strength. Thorin did not know how long it would take to get used to seeing them thus attired but he felt sure that they would never blend in completely. The men of this time did not generally wear beards or braids but he drew the line at changing either – not that Kíli’s scruff could honestly be called a beard he thought with a rare smile. 

Thorin missed his armour too, especially its weight and the feeling of security it engendered; now his beard and the braids in his hair were his only link with traditions of his race and the past.

Spending his days waiting with no information was preying on his mind and gave him too much time to brood. If only someone could explain why they had been brought here, he could try to make sense of this strange new world. He sighed heavily, causing Orlando to glance behind, his eyebrows raised in query.

Thorin hastened to reassure him. “Please do not concern yourself, I find not knowing why we are here or what befell the rest of my Company, most frustrating. You, Sean and Hugh have done much to make us welcome, and I know without the help of your surgeons and apothecaries my nephews would certainly have perished. For that alone I am immeasurably thankful.”

Orlando nodded and held out the stick to him, “Do you want to play? Take your mind off things?”

Thorin shook his head but smiled. “I thank you but no. Though I will venture closer to see better.”

~~~

Sean led his guest along the corridor and towards a set of double doors. Even from some distance he could hear the sound laughter coming from the room.

G could obviously hear the noise too because he said, “They have made a full recovery?” 

“Yes, it shocked everyone including the doctors. Their broken bones knitted together ridiculously quickly and Fíli has managed to re-grow a kidney. I don’t suppose you’re going to explain how that happened?”

“What happened to their medical records?”

“I impounded them and threatened everyone involved with treason charges if anything got out.”

Sean stopped just before the doors and turned to face G. Aware that information was being kept from him, he said with some heat, “It’s not been easy to pacify them when I didn’t have any answers to their questions. Fortunately, Thorin was worried enough about his nephews that he didn’t take it into his head to up and leave. I don’t think even Hugh and I combined would have been able to stop him if he had.”

“In all the years of our acquaintance Durin and his descendants were ever quick to anger and reluctant to listen to reason,” G said almost musingly which only increased Sean’s anger.

“You know them? From where or should I say when?” When G didn’t respond, Sean added, “You know I hate being kept in the dark. You recruited me to lead this team but keeping me out of the loop makes it appear that you don’t trust me to do my job. You’re going to have to decide which it is or I will have to re-think my future.” Sean made a deliberate effort to control himself.

He was somewhat mollified when G at least had the grace to look contrite. “I am very sorry for that, Sean, I have only now been given permission to explain what is happening to you all. There are powers far greater than I in this world and I am answerable to them.”

“About time! And it had better be good because from what Lan tells me our friends shouldn’t be alive and certainly shouldn’t be here.”

As Sean opened the door the older man said, “I suspect that you will not be the only one who is demanding explanations. Just agree to hear me out, Sean, that is all I ask.”

“I’ll do that, but I can’t vouch for Thorin. He’s furious about something and won’t share with any of us.”

“I have earned the anger of Thorin Oakenshield in the past, Sean, I cannot imagine anything I can say will change that.”

“Then I would suggest that you emphasise that his nephews are only alive because of your interference. He idolises those lads and I am sure his gratitude will help him forgive.” Sean opened the door and stood back to allow G to enter first.

Inside was a comfortably furnished room, with sofas, armchairs and a large table surrounded by twelve chairs. At the moment the room’s five occupants were gathered around a snooker table watching while Hugh lined up his next shot. 

Having successfully potted the pink he began to walk around the table working out what he should do next.

“Any chance you want to raise your bet?” Fíli asked.

With a grin Sean glanced at the score and did some quick calculations, Hugh was fifty points in front with six reds left on the table and all the colours on their respective spots, making a maximum of sixty-nine points available. Mind you, a couple of the reds weren’t easy to get to.

Even so, it looked to him as though Hugh was sure to win this game so he was surprised to hear him say. “Not on your life, you hustler. I still don’t believe that brother of yours had never picked up a cue until four days ago.”

“Snooker wasn’t a game we had in Ered Luin.” Kíli spoke from where he was waiting beside the table, his cue held loosely in one hand. “But calculating angles is something I’ve been doing since I first picked up a bow.”

“That might be the case but I’m still not upping the bet,” Hugh responded with a grin. “On the other hand, if you and Lan could set up an archery contest, I might be interested in betting on that.”

“Who would you support?” Orlando grinned at him.

“Ah well, I’d have to see how good Kíli is now that Sean has told me what you can do.”

Sean pulled out a chair for G and one for himself before sitting down at the table.

Thorin must have heard the scrape of the chair against the floor because he turned to look at them and was on his feet instantly. He strode over to the table and leaning forward he put his hands down on the surface, looming over both Sean and G. “Well, much becomes clear. I should not be surprised to see you here, Gandalf. You are usually associated with the mischief that befalls my line.” Thorin almost spat the words.

G had admitted to knowing Thorin and his family as a result of some shared past events, which Sean guessed hadn’t turned out well but he was still taken aback by the rage in Thorin’s stance and voice. He considered if he should try to keep them apart, after all G appeared to be much older than Thorin. But having also been on the receiving end of G’s secrecy, and knowing that things were not always as they seemed, Sean wasn’t sure that he wanted to volunteer to stand in the line of fire.

In the sudden silence that fell in the room Sean heard Kíli mutter, “That’s an understatement if ever I heard one.” 

As one the brothers moved over to stand beside their uncle, though whether they were going to support him in an attack on G or prevent murder being done, Sean couldn’t quite work out.

When no blows were struck immediately, Sean breathed a sigh of relief. 

G began, “Thorin, I know you must be desperate to know why you and your nephews have been brought here. But you should know that I am not solely responsible for your misfortunes...”

“I will not bandy words with you, wizard! I know full well the depth of blame attached to me. From you I want an explanation of how we came to be here so changed in body, and then you will tell me what happened in the battle when we three fell.”

G clasped his hands in front of him and began. “I can answer the last question most easily. The alliance of men, elves and dwarves were victorious. As you have probably guessed, you three would not have survived if I had not brought you here.”

“Our wounds were mortal? I had guessed as much when I saw my nephews fall.” Thorin seemed to shrink in on himself and he lowered himself slowly onto a chair. Fíli and Kíli settled themselves on either side of him, their shoulders close as though they were trying to offer support. Sean saw regret in his posture and he had some idea of how Thorin must be feeling. He had sent men who were friends of on jobs and a few hadn’t returned. While they might not be family, the loss had still been very difficult to bear.

“So why are they here? And more to the point how did they survive?” Hugh had joined them and posed the question. He and Orlando sat too, both of them taking seats along the end of the table.

“I will try to make the explanation short but I will need to explain something of the history of Middle Earth and also how this concerns your burglar, Bilbo Baggins.”

“Middle Earth? Where they came from?” Orlando said, waving his arm to include Thorin, Fíli and Kíli. 

“Yes,” Gandalf nodded. “Now my tale concerns one of the greatest evils to befall the land and it goes back many thousands of years. I will not relate the history through the entire First and Second Ages except to say that the evil that is Sauron was defeated for the first time in the War of the Last Alliance when men and elves fought together. There Isildur, High King of Gondor and Arnor, cut the One Ring from his finger and took possession of it.” 

For reasons Sean could not explain G’s story was feeling very familiar so he was shocked when Thorin snapped, “I know the histories; my ancestors fought in that battle so you have no need to recount it. The Ring was lost. It betrayed Isildur to his death and was lost.” 

“Not all of those here know of these matters and they need to understand the peril that is facing this world now. So, Thorin Oakenshield, will you allow me continue with my story?”

Thorin nodded. “Very well.” 

“Unfortunately, the One Ring did not remain lost. It was found by the creature Gollum and taken into the depths of the Misty Mountains. The ring slipped out of mind and there it remained for many years until it was found by Bilbo.”

“Bilbo? That can’t be true, when would Bilbo have found it?” Kíli’s voice rose in question.

“The One Ring?” Orlando asked almost simultaneously.

“An artefact crafted by Sauron and quenched in his own blood; it was the ring that ruled all others. Bilbo found it in the tunnels of the Goblin King, when he was separated from your Company. He was unaware of the Ring’s history and, to my shame, I did not know of his possession of it until many years later.”

“Many years?” Fíli spoke for the first time. “How many years ago was the battle in which we should have died? How long is it since we reclaimed Erebor from Smaug?”

From the stunned expressions on the faces of Thorin and Kíli, Sean knew that they hadn’t made the leap of understanding as quickly as Fíli.

“I am sorry to say those events happened many thousands of years ago. By the end of the Fourth Age the Elves were leaving Middle Earth and the numbers of dwarves, who had never been a fecund race, grew smaller and smaller as time went on. Very soon dwarves and elves were but a memory recalled only in the tales that men told their children.

“What happened to our mother?” Kíli asked quietly.

“She mourned your loss for the rest of her days.”

Thorin placed a hand on each nephew’s shoulder, offering wordless comfort for several moments. Eventually he turned to G and asked, “As hard as this news is to hear I would still like you to explain for what reason you have brought us here.”

“I will reveal that as soon as I have finished my tale. By the time I had positively identified the ring, Bilbo was more than one hundred years old and the task of destroying the Ring was taken up by his nephew Frodo. Accompanied only by two men, an elf, a dwarf, myself and three hobbits, Frodo set out from Rivendell and after many adventures and much peril he succeeded in destroying the Ring and with it the power of Sauron. One of the men, Boromir of Gondor, fell on the quest.”

Suddenly pulled out of the story G was weaving, Sean shuddered. It was the feeling that was often described as that of someone walking over your grave though why he would be experiencing that now he had no clue.

Gandalf ignored the movement and continued with his story. “The days during the quest to destroy the Ring were a dark time. Throughout Middle Earth the forces of evil rallied, attacking those who fought for good. Rohan endured much hardship and the city of Minas Tirith was besieged by a huge army of orcs and others. At the same time a force of Easterlings attacked Dale. When the men were unable to defend the city they fell back to Erebor where your kinsman Dáin gave them shelter. The mountain was almost impregnable and in the battle that was fought before the gates the combined force of dwarves and men were victorious but, unfortunately, Dáin perished in the battle.

“Frodo may have destroyed the ring but he was much changed by possession of the foul thing and the trials of his journey. In time he and Bilbo were gifted the honour of being allowed to travel to the Grey Havens where they passed over the sea to the undying lands.

G stopped speaking and there was silence for some time. Sean needed time to process all he had heard and he imagined that Thorin and his nephews would be even worse off.

After several minutes of silence Thorin spoke. “If Sauron is destroyed why have you brought us here?”

Sean suddenly spoke up certain he had divined the real reason. “Because Sauron or something of his ilk is returning and the world as we know it is in grave danger.”

G nodded but before he could respond Thorin spoke again. “But what can six of us do against someone of such power? From the description of the attack on us, Orlando and Hugh could barely deal with the number of orcs who were there.”

“In this world you and your nephews have greater powers than you realise, Thorin Oakenshield. You have spent your life fighting against evil in all its forms and Fíli and Kíli have been trained to fight alongside you almost from birth. As for the others, they are all closely bound to Middle Earth, they may just not remember it yet.

“The governments of this world have standing armies and weapons that Sauron would envy but could not compete against. Now his scheme must be one of subterfuge. He will attempt to gain control of those in power by tempting them, by offering them reward. And, as the Kings of Men discovered when he gifted them with the Nine Rings of Power, his gifts are treacherous. 

“With your family, Sean, Hugh and Orlando leading the way, I feel sure we can find a way to combat such wickedness. You will not be the only ones; there are others, the White Council for example, who will also be with you.”

“I have heard of this White Council, it purports to be a collection of the wisest beings in Middle Earth so I am forced to conclude it is comprised of elves and wizards as none would consider dwarves to be wise. However, I will admit that I certainly did not aid that impression by falling under the thrall of the Arkenstone.” Thorin spoke, his voice strained.

“There was nothing you could do about that or the lure of the gold. It had absorbed Smaug’s magic for many years. Bilbo gave you his forgiveness, Thorin, you must now learn to forgive yourself.” G’s tone was gentle.

Something clicked in Sean’s head and with a certainty that he didn’t understand, he said, “They aren’t the only ones you’ve bought here are they? I have the feeling that something similar has happened to Orlando and me. But I don’t understand why we don’t remember and don’t have the same clear recollection of our past lives as Thorin, Fíli and Kíli.”

Sean didn’t need verbal confirmation of the truth of his suggestion; one look at G’s expression was enough. 

Before G could respond Orlando demanded, “So who were we then? And what about Hugh, how does he fit into this?” 

G smiled. “You are correct, Sean, both you and Orlando had previous existences in Middle Earth but unlike Thorin and his nephews, you do not have a clear recollection of your previous lives because you had passed on.” 

“They were transported in time and we were reincarnated?” Sean suggested.

“Yes, that is a good way of explaining the difference,” G agreed looking slightly startled.

Thorin almost crowed with satisfaction. “Ha! At last, someone has surprised the wizard by out guessing him!”

“So where do I fit in?” Hugh finally spoke, having remained quiet for longer than Sean could ever remember. “I don’t have any recollection of any of the things you’ve spoken of.”

G turned to Hugh. “You have travelled yet another path to reach this point in time. To answer your question, Hugh, you are the direct descendent of King Elessar, the king of the Reunited Kingdom of Gondor. I mentioned him earlier in my story by another name, Aragorn.”

Orlando blurted out. “How do you know that? Keeping accurate birth records only began a bit more than a hundred and fifty years ago and you are talking about something going back thousands!”

“As Thorin has mentioned, I am a wizard.”

“Aye, one of the Maiar.” Thorin nodded.

“True and therefore immortal. I have watched and waited for this time to come and have made certain to guard the line of Elendil.”

“So you are expecting us to work against Sauron and his ilk and have some idea why Thorin, Fíli, Kíli and Hugh were chosen. You’ve also said that Orlando and I had past lives in Middle Earth but you haven’t said who we were.” Sean summarised the lengthy conversation.

G’s gaze softened when he looked at Sean. “I think you have some idea of your past identity Sean, you felt it when I recounted the events at Parth Galen.”

Sean nodded as memories suddenly flooded his mind. He winced as the thoughts tumbled around in his head until eventually they began to gain some order and to arrange themselves. Hugh was already reaching out to him when he said, “I was Boromir of Gondor, the son of Denathor the steward, entrusted with the care of Gondor until the king’s return. I was part of the Fellowship and I tried to take the Ring from Frodo. It spoke to me and tempted me.”

“That is true, Sean, but before the end you saved your honour. You died trying to save Merry and Pippin.” Gandalf rested a hand on his shoulder and Sean instantly felt less remorse.

“And me?” Orlando asked eagerly.

Gandalf turned a strained smile towards Orlando and then looked directly at Thorin. “I want you to bear in mind that many years have passed and that Orlando here is not the same person you knew in Middle Earth.”

“Why?” Thorin growled 

Shit! What on earth was Gandalf about to say? Sean had been walking a tightrope for the past week or more trying to keep Thorin calm and if the bloody wizard wrecked that, Sean was going to sit and enjoy watching Thorin beat him to a pulp. 

“Uncle,” Kíli put his hand over Thorin’s. “Whatever we learn it will not change the past. You have to let old grudges rest.”

“Yes, we are here and now and it does not matter who or what Orlando was in a past life. We can only judge him for who he is and what he has done now. He and Hugh saved our lives when we were not able to defend ourselves.” Fíli spoke up too.

Thorin gave each of his nephews a long look and then directed a sharp nod at Gandalf.

“Orlando, in your past life you were Legolas Thrandulion. The son of Thranduil, ruler of the Woodland Realm.”

Chaos broke out as Thorin surged to his feet. Sean watched in admiration as Fíli and Kíli threw themselves on Thorin. Their combined weight forcing him to stagger and then slowly he toppled over, making a noise like air escaping from a balloon when both youngsters landed on top of him.

“I’d make yourself scarce for a while, Lan. This meeting’s about over now I’d say.” Orlando looked as though he was going to try to reason with Thorin. Sean on the other hand had seen enough enraged drunks in his time as a beat copper to know the value of picking your battles.

Eventually Orlando accepted Sean’s advice leaving the room with extreme reluctance.

~~~

**Two hours later**  
After he had left the room downstairs, Orlando had come up to the apartment he had in the house that was SO21’s headquarters. Because they were on call twenty four seven, it had been easier to convert rooms in the house into self-contained living accommodation for the three of them. Even though they each had their own kitchen and living space, they normally spent most of their time together, with one or other of them cooking in the evening and them all sharing their food in the communal area. Tonight though, Orlando had felt the need for somewhere to hide. Thorin’s anger, while majestic, had also been downright scary.

Sinking deeper into the padded cushions of the sofa, Orlando wondered how his life had become even more complicated. It had started the instant he walked into the Intensive Care Unit when he had seen Kíli for the first time. Orlando had been drawn to him and the past couple of weeks had only strengthened that feeling. It wasn’t their shared interest in archery or swords, or even that Orlando had gained a sense of romanticism about medieval life through his studies. His tutors had been only too keen to emphasise how hard life was for the ordinary person that far back in history. He shrugged helplessly, maybe it was something to do with an incident in his past life as an Elf? His previous incarnation was certainly known to Thorin and his nephews, their reaction to Gandalf’s announcement had shown that. So did something happen to bring them together before? If so, who could Orlando have pissed off so comprehensively to make him suffer like this? Why was it that the first time in ages he had felt an interest in someone, it was accompanied by all manner of family shit?

Orlando had just swallowed the last of his wine and was contemplating refilling his glass when he heard a knock on his door. He debated whether to open it. He didn’t want a confrontation with Thorin, especially when he had no recollection of what his past self was supposed to have done. And, having seen how Sean’s recollection of past events had affected him, Orlando suspected he might have the better end of the deal. 

Finally, he put the glass down on the coffee table and walked over to open the door. It was both a pleasure and a frustration when he saw Kíli standing there.

“Can I come in? Only I wanted to apologise and try to explain why Thorin reacted so badly.”

Moving a bit reluctantly, Orlando stood back to allow Kíli to enter. “So who got the short straw of keeping Thorin in check?”

Kíli tried and failed to hide a smirk. “That would be Fíli, he’s always been much better at getting through to him. Mother always said that Thorin and I were too much alike to make each other see sense.”

“But you’re not trying to kill me for something I had nothing to do with.” Orlando felt he had to point out.

“Ah well, I haven’t had the same number of years to build up his levels of anger and resentment,” Kíli offered with a breath-taking smile.

“Oh joy.” Orlando sighed. “Look I’m going to get another glass of wine, so can I get you something? I’ve got beer as well if you would prefer that.”

“A beer please.”

Orlando waved Kíli over to sit and when he got back he deliberately sat down next to him on the sofa. He had considered sitting in the armchair which was on the other side of the table but a feeling of daring had made him take the seat closer to his visitor.

Putting both drinks on the coffee table in front of them, Orlando asked, “So how have you and Fíli coped so easily with what has happened?”

Kíli gave some consideration to his question before answering. “I don’t think easily is the right word. It’s just that we are younger and have never known what it is like to lose our home. We were born on the road during the time the Erebor dwarves were looking for somewhere to settle and then, once we were in our forties, we used to travel with Thorin as his apprentices. So we’ve never experienced stability in our lives or the sense of loss that he has. It also makes a difference that Fíli is with me. We’ve always been together so that hasn’t changed for me. Almost since we woke up we’ve been trying to get through to Thorin and make him understand that he has to accept that we are here and that we need to make the best of the situation.”

“You mentioned your mother? What was she like?” 

Kíli’s face dropped as soon as he uttered the words and Orlando cursed himself for not holding his silence. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

Kíli reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out something that he kept cradled in his hand. He starred at the item for a while and then offered it to Orlando.

Orlando took the smooth stone, it was still warm from Kíli’s hand. Holding it up to the light, Orlando could discern some markings on one side. They reminded him of the Anglo Saxon runes he had studied. Sifting back through his memory he looked at the shapes and tried to work out what was written there.

“Come back to me? Or something like that?” he said finally.

Kíli nodded. “Yes. My mother gave me that stone to remind me to come back to her. She knew if I came back that Fíli would too because she had told him to keep an eye on me.”

“Did you have other family? Someone who would look after her?”

Kíli shook his head. “With our deaths, she would have lost everyone close to her. Her parents, brothers, husband and then her sons.”

Without thinking of the possible consequences Orlando shifted closer to Kíli and put his hand over Kíli’s larger one. “I’m so sorry. It must be awful not to be able to do anything or to be able to let her know that you didn’t die.”

“There’s nothing we can do about it and, if Gandalf’s story is true, she would have passed on herself a very long time ago.”

Orlando took the comment for the evasion it was, shifting in his seat to pick up his wine.

“So you were the Elf who captured us in Mirkwood then?” Kíli said after a few more moments of silence.

Orlando shrugged. “I honestly have no idea; unlike Sean I really don’t remember anything of that life.”

Kíli took a sip from the beer bottle. “I wonder why? But then we all got to this situation in very different ways so maybe that’s the key to the differences in our recollection? If you were Legolas, then I remember you very well. I suppose having that history might explain why you took to archery and using a sword so easily.”

“Yes, but my skill doesn’t compare with yours or Fíli’s.”

“Dwarflings usually start weapons training when they reach forty but, because Fíli and I were his heirs, Thorin made us train every day with no let up from the time we were thirty. Now, I’m seventy-seven and Fíli is eighty-two, that’s a lot of practice.”

Orlando passed back the rune stone and let himself slump down in his seat. “I suppose so.” 

They sat in silence for a while longer and then in a change of subject Kíli said, “So what’s this thing called Christmas I keep hearing about?”

“What?”

“Christmas? I think that was what it was called, Sean mentioned something about it being a holiday and that there would be a special dinner.”

“Oh. Well, Christmas means different things to different people. It began primarily as a religious festival and is celebrated all over the world. But, to a lot of people, it is a time to spend with their families, eat and drink huge amounts, and an excuse to spend a ridiculous amount of money giving gifts to each other.”

“Oh, right so food, gifts, drinking – sounds like a dwarf’s idea of heaven. There is a mid-Winter festival we celebrate that’s a bit like that. A boar is sacrificed and there is lots of good food and ale. The difference seems to be that everyone from the King down has to make a vow.”

“What sort of vow?”

“It can vary and depends on the individual. Promising you’ll work harder is a usual one. But it is taken very seriously.”

“That sounds a bit like our New Year’s Resolutions, not that many people manage to keep them though.”

“We had to keep our vows, there were punishments if you didn’t.”

“Punishments?”

“Yes, when we were still only dwarflings Fíli and I had to clean Dwalin and Uncle’s weapons for a month because we broke our promises.” Kíli smiled fondly at the memory and Orlando felt a predictable jolt of desire at the picture he made in the dim light. 

“That doesn’t sound too bad.” He tried desperately to keep his voice steady.

“Too bad? Do you know how many weapons a dwarf usually carries?” Kíli reached over for his beer, leaning more firmly against Orlando as he did so. “Does that mean that you, Sean and Hugh will be going off to spend time with your families over Christmas?”

Orlando drank some more wine before answering. “No, for the past two years we’ve spent the time together unless we’ve been working.”

“Oh I’m sorry. I didn’t realise your family…”

“They’re not dead,” Orlando replied, finding himself both unwilling and curious to know what Kíli’s reaction would be if he discovered the true reasons that Orlando no longer had any contact with his family. “We just don’t see eye to eye about my choices.”

“Choices? You mean your choice of what you do? They must worry about you.”

Orlando knew he could answer that in the affirmative and avoid the issue of his sexuality but something made him say, “They don’t know what I really do; I can’t tell them for obvious reasons. My dad wanted me to teach at a university, to follow in his footsteps. But mostly it’s because I told them that I wasn’t going to settle down and supply grandchildren for them. The gender of the person I would choose as a partner doesn’t have the right equipment to produce children.”

A frown contorted Kíli’s face. “You prefer males?”

Orlando didn’t answer, just gave a nod and waited for the reaction.

“But that’s awful!”

“What? That I prefer men or that they disowned me because of it?” Orlando tried to keep the bitterness and his heartfelt disappointment out of his voice but must have failed because Kíli grabbed his hand.

“Because they disowned you of course! What else would I mean? In my race males outnumber females by more than three to one. If our culture had frowned on same sex relationships we would have wiped ourselves out long ago competing for the available females. Like me, a lot of the males preferred their own kind so it wasn’t discouraged or looked down on.”

“Oh so… you… the succession…” Orlando tailed off, shocked that Kíli was so open about his own preferences. But Kíli was of royal blood and second in line to the throne, surely he would have been expected to father children to guarantee the succession? 

“Me?” Kíli gave a slow smile that made Orlando’s insides spin. “Getting an heir was always going to be Fíli’s job. Everyone understood I was out of the running on that one.”

“Really? They accepted it so easily?” Orlando risked meeting Kíli’s eyes and was relieved and gratified to see his own interest mirrored there.

“Yes, they did.” Taking Orlando’s glass Kíli put that and his beer bottle onto the coffee table. Leaning forward he pressed his lips against Orlando’s.

Orlando could tell that Kíli was giving him the chance to move away if he didn’t want the kiss to continue but honestly, that was the last thing on his mind. He’d been dreaming of something like this for days.

In the way of most first kisses, it was tentative but despite that Orlando felt his heart rate pick up as he put his hands on either side of Kíli’s face, stroking against the rough stubble he found there. 

As their shared kisses continued and deepened, Orlando found himself manoeuvred until he was lying flat with Kíli pressed against him. They were of a height so when Orlando lifted his hips slightly, his length rubbed against a similar bulge in Kíli’s jeans. 

It felt so gratifying that he did it again.

“Mahal, that feels so good.” Kíli groaned before moving his mouth back to Orlando’s neck, sucking and nibbling on the flesh there.

“Oh yeah, I know. Just don’t stop,” Orlando breathed.

Impatiently sliding his hands down Kíli’s back, Orlando pulled on the thin t-shirt he was wearing, dragging it up until Kíli’s skin was warm under his questing fingers. Pulling away for a moment, Kíli lifted the t-shirt off and over his head and Orlando couldn’t resist running his fingers through the dark hair that covered his chest.

It only seemed fair to reciprocate, so when Kíli tugged at his shirt, Orlando let him pull it off over his head without undoing the buttons.

Orlando’s breath caught in his throat as Kíli continued to move against him. Everything about him was enthralling, the sounds coming from his mouth, the scent of arousal that clung to him and the sensation of his skin against Orlando’s. They were behaving like a couple of randy teenagers and Orlando couldn’t bring himself to care. 

It was never going to take long for Orlando to finish, the lack of any regular sexual activity over the past two years put paid to any hope he had of holding back. Finally, the glorious pressure of Kíli’s cock against his was too much and, with a groan, he came in his jeans.

Orlando wheezed as the air was forced out of his lungs when Kíli collapsed onto him, burying his face in Orlando’s neck.

“Sorry. Give me a second and I’ll move,” Kíli offered. His breath whispering against Orlando’s skin.

“It’s okay. It feels good.” Orlando wrapped his arms around Kíli to keep him in place.

“Are you sure? I’m not a lightweight.”

“I’m sure. It won’t be for long as we’ll have to move soon to get cleaned up.”

Staying within Orlando’s arms, Kíli managed to roll over so that they were laying on their side facing each other. 

Embarrassed at his lack of control, Orlando began, “Um… Sorry about that… I don’t…”

“It happened to me too.”

“It did?”

Kíli nodded and then reached over Orlando’s arm so that he could stroke his cheek. “I don’t know what’s going on here, but I’ve never felt such an instant attraction to anyone before.”

Releasing his hold on Kíli Orlando turned his head to press a kiss against the other man’s palm before replying. “Me too.”

“So, about cleaning up?”

Kíli’s hand was now travelling up and down his back, his fingers tracing Orlando’s spine. Pleasantly distracted Orlando managed only a single word response. “Yes?” 

“I’ve grown to like the showers you have here and wondered if we should try that.”

The idea of sharing a shower with Kíli was an enticing one so Orlando cringed when he heard himself saying, “Together?”

“Yes, unless of course you don’t want to.”

“Oh yes, I do. I mean that sounds like a great idea. We can save water at the same time.” Orlando pulled Kíli down for another kiss but was interrupted when his stomach rumbled loudly. 

“You must be hungry, none of us have had any food since lunchtime.” Kíli looked concerned.

“Yeah, I’m famished but I don’t feel like facing Thorin at the moment. I really don’t want to give him any more reasons to hate me.”

“He doesn’t hate you, it will just take a while for him to come to terms with who you were.” Kíli leaned over and kissed him. But before they could get side-tracked Kíli got to his feet, dragging Orlando up with him before moving towards the kitchen area. Once there he pulled open the refrigerator. “You must have something in here we can cook.”

He inspected the contents of Orlando’s fridge for thirty seconds and then closed the door. “There are eggs, ham and cheese. We can do something with those. So how about we get cleaned up and then cook?”

Nodding agreement Orlando grabbed Kíli’s hand and led him towards the bathroom.

~~~

The sound of voices in the living room dragged Orlando from the depths of the best night’s sleep he’d had in ages and he immediately registered the lack of a warm body behind him.

Pulling on his robe, he made his way slowly in the other room and saw it was Fíli who was talking with Kíli. They turned to face him as he reached the door and the first thing that registered was the fact that Kíli wasn’t actually wearing a stitch of clothing. He was admiring the view for several seconds before he began to feel a little embarrassed, Fíli was not going to be in any doubt about what they’d been up to last night. Risking a look to see how he was taking it, Orlando was relieved when the older brother grinned at him.

Before they could exchange any words, Kíli grabbed his arm and dragged him back towards the bedroom.

“Help me find my clothes? Thorin’s got something he wants us to help him with and he was banging on our door nearly an hour ago. Fíli covered for me but I need to go.”

Orlando shut the door behind them and leaned back against it. “Is us being together going to make him even more eager to kill me?” 

“Why should it?” Kíli looked puzzled.

“Because it could look to him as though I seduced you just to spite him.”

“Do you think we’ve done something wrong here? Something we can be faulted for?” Kíli closed the distance between them a frown marring his features.

Realising that he needed to salvage this before a minor misunderstanding got much worse, Orlando shook his head. “No, of course not, what happened was great and I wouldn’t change it for the world. I’m just worried about how your Uncle is going to see it.”

“It’s not his concern who I sleep with. Or Fíli’s either for that matter but don’t worry, he’s fine with it.”

Orlando put his hand on Kíli’s shoulder and pulled him closer. Leaning in he whispered, “I know, but I don’t want anything to come between us and what we have here,” before pressing their lips together. 

“Good. Don’t worry about Thorin, his bark’s worse than his bite, always has been.” Kíli moved to the side of the bed and fumbled around on the floor for a few seconds. Picking up his jeans he stepped into them and then pulled a t-shirt over his head. “That’s something good about the clothes here; it would have taken me ages to get dressed in my old clothes, all those layers. And don’t get me started on the armour.” 

Orlando couldn’t help but smile at his rambling, knowing that Kíli was only trying to make him feel better.

Smiling Orlando pulled Kíli in for a final kiss. “Okay, it’ll be fine. I’ll take your word for it.”

“Good, I’ll find you a bit later once I know what Thorin wants.”

~~~

**Christmas Evening**  
Orlando lounged on the sofa between Fíli and Kíli trying not to fall asleep. The three of them had eaten so much Orlando was surprised that they had made it as far as the sofa before collapsing.

Pleasantly sleepy, he let his mind wander. The few days leading up to Christmas had passed quickly with Orlando seeing little of Kíli during the day as he, Thorin and Fíli had been occupied with something they were very secretive about. Orlando hadn’t worried though, because he and Kíli had spent every night together. 

He wasn’t sure what the brothers had said to Thorin because he had gone out of his way to be pleasant towards Orlando. He’d found it slightly unnerving at first but had eventually accepted that Kíli knew his uncle best and that Thorin was at least tolerating his presence. Orlando still wasn’t confident that Thorin would be as accepting when he found out where Kíli was spending his nights but he was trying not to appear too much of a pessimist.

For the past two Christmases it had become a habit between the three of them to exchange small gifts after dinner. They had explained the tradition to the new team members and as a result there was now a much bigger pile of brightly wrapped boxes under the Christmas tree than usual. 

The present he had bought for Kíli would not really qualify as small, but from the moment he had the idea Orlando had been overcome with excitement. Finally, the washing up finished, Sean and Hugh joined them and Orlando’s lethargy was swiftly replaced with anticipation. He sat up straighter and waited for Sean and Hugh to take their seats before scrambling off the sofa to kneel beside the tree. “I’m volunteering to distribute the presents this year.”

Sean waved his agreement so Orlando made for the nearest parcel, flipping over the tag on it to see who it should go to. “Fíli – this one’s for you.” He passed over the box. There was nothing on the tag to tell who the gift was from, that was deliberate, but Orlando usually had a good idea of who had got what based on the style of the wrapping. Sean’s were usually wrapped in a rush, so they were covered in paper but with no ribbons or bows attached. Hugh’s were wrapped with military precision. The creases in the paper being sharp and the ends folded in with painstaking accuracy. Orlando’s presents tended more to flamboyance, with fancy gift tags and curling ribbon adorning them.

He’d distributed most of the parcels when he came to three roughly wrapped boxes. He looked enquiringly at Kíli who tried to pull off an ‘I know nothing about them’ face. But already Orlando knew him too well and could see the delight he was trying to hide.

There was one for each of them, Orlando, Hugh and Sean, so Orlando passed two of them out and added the last one to his pile. Once he had retaken his place on the sofa, the fun started. It took a few seconds for the newer members of the team to understand what was happening but soon Fíli and Kíli joined in with gusto, ripping the paper off their gifts while Thorin was much more reserved.

Orlando had to grin at the matching Christmas sweaters all three of them held up. Fíli’s one had a robin on it, Thorin’s a large reindeer and Kíli’s a snowflake. They were most likely Sean’s choice, Orlando guessed. Then there were the usual things like toiletries and chocolate so that soon, Orlando only had the large box left to unwrap. Looking around he noticed that, perhaps deliberately, Sean and Hugh had left their similarly wrapped presents until last too.

With a glance at the others, Orlando started on the paper and then he ripped apart the cardboard. He knew what it was as soon as the final wrapping was removed. In a scabbard of embossed dark blue leather was a sword. When he drew it partway from the sheath, the sight of it took his breath away. The steel was polish to a dazzling finish and the wooden hilt had been oiled to bring out the grain. Standing and moving to a clear space in the room, he drew it completely. The length and weight were perfect for him. Looking over, he saw that both Sean and Hugh had their own weapons, each was slightly different and had obviously made specifically for the bearer. It hit him then that this was what Kíli and his family had been doing for the past few days. While he had known that the dwarves were skilled smiths in their previous existence, he hadn’t fully appreciated that it meant they could produce items of such beauty and destruction. 

It some ways the sight of the swords brought home the reality of the battle they were facing against Sauron and his creatures and it made Orlando even more grateful for his choice of present for Kíli. 

Through the wreckage of present wrappings, Orlando watched as Kíli opened his gift. Orlando could tell the moment he realised what was underneath the wrapping paper. His look of joy was wonderful. Orlando was confident Kíli would appreciate the top of the range carbon fibre, recurve bow. He’d had to estimate the length needed and the draw weight but had gone for the highest available having learned from their recent, and very enjoyable, activities just how strong the dwarf was.

Passing the bow to Fíli for him to inspect, Kíli jumped up and in a couple of quick steps was across the room. Dragging Orlando to his feet, Kíli drew him into a hug. “Thank you it’s wonderful and so different from anything I’ve ever used before. I can’t wait to try it.”

Wrapping his arms around Kíli’s waist, Orlando nodded at the sword and scabbard by his feet. “Did you make this? It’s beautiful.”

“The three of us did. Thorin got Gandalf to find a forge in one of your craft villages that would let him work; then it only took a few days.”

Orlando couldn’t help but smile. “How did you get Thorin to ask for Gandalf’s help?”

“Fíli had already agreed to work with me so I told Thorin that he needed to help us so that we didn’t ruin the Durin family reputation as master sword smiths. In the end he made the blades, Fíli made the wooden hilts and I did the leatherwork for the scabbards.”

It was only then, when Orlando remembered that they were in a room full of people, that he noticed the silence was so deep he could have heard a pin drop. That was when he realised that he and Kíli were still standing with their arms around each other. “Oh shit!”

“What?” 

“I think we just gave the game away.” Orlando deliberately kept his gaze focused on Kíli. “Does Thorin look angry?”

“I honestly think you worry too much. He’s beginning to see sense. I also think being away from the gold in Erebor has made a difference, well that, and seeing Fíli and I fall in the battle.” The last was delivered in a whisper.

“You kept that quiet, Lan,” Hugh called out.

Taking a deep breath, Orlando looked over to where Thorin was sitting expecting one of his patented glares. But instead, he was looking at them with an expression bordering on fondness so he let himself hope that Kíli was right.

He knew he still had a lot to learn about who he had been in his previous life and about the task they had to protect mankind from Sauron and his evil but he was with those he could trust and had won the love of a wonderful man. What more could he possibly want? 

It might be Christmas today but Orlando had got the best present ever the night Kíli decided to stay with him.

Ignoring the others Orlando threw caution to the winds, pulled Kíli into his arms and kissed him.


End file.
